NASA’s Role in International Affairs, Center for Strategic & International Studies, 26 April 2016 (Video)
“42:20: Q: When are we going to get to Mars? What is the time line?
Bolden: “2030s. As I said before the was no plan. And some people today contest our plan – but we have one. And a plan needs to at least have a definite date in which you’re gonna do something. Because the President said so, for one thing.”
Keith’s note: OK Charlie. You have a plan to send humans to Mars? Post your plan online. Oh wait: you can’t – because there is no plan.
NASA Begins Its Journey To Nowhere, earlier post
“No one with even a shred of fiscal accumen will tell you that a multi-decade program to send humans to Mars – as is typically done by NASA (delays, overruns, and PR hype) – is going to be done “within current budget levels, with modest increases aligned to economic growth.” This is just back peddling NASA PR mumbo jumbo designed to try and make it seem that Lightfoot said something other than what he actually said.”

Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻

12 replies on “NASA Hypes Its Imaginary Plan for the #JourneyToMars”

  2. Charlie Bolden, in the twilight of his undistinguished tenure as Administrator, has shown us what is behind the curtain.

    We must have a date because the President said so. Of course there is no scientific reason, no exploration reason, etc. And when we have a new President we will have a new date – likely with a new destination and a new program.

    People working on SLS should look for another huge transition when the new Administrator is in place, quite a few months from now.

    1. Never forget the very real human story involved with SLS. While many think SLS is a fool’s errand, never forget that thousands of our talented engineers toil to make it work, people with aspiration and with careers to consider.

      1. Michael Spencer Did the people working Apollo NOT have careers to consider? Did the people working Shuttle NOT have careers to consider? What about Constellation? There are MANY examples of Federal and State projects that were cancelled – the people who were working on them must accept that.

          1. @miMichael Spencer the point is that the talented people toiling had better consider that their aspiration and career may require that they move. As so many people have in the past. We can sympathize with the SLS team but they have to be realistic.

      2. Which makes it all the more sad since they could be using those talents on projects that could actually benefit the nation.

        1. They do. At least the ones picking up the phone and hearing from the other end: “Hi! It’s Elon!”

    2. I foresee another undistinguished tenure for 70 year old Charlie in his very near future in his new job as dean of some school or some odd.

  3. In many ways you need to feel sorry for NASA. Like a old movie star from the silent movie era they still have dreams of grandeur without realizing that the world is changing around them in ways they are not able to understand. Journey to Mars is no more than a dream about returning to the grandeur of past ages.

    1. I would have agreed with that until they made the deal with SpaceX and penciled out in-house research on Mars landing.

      It’s a mistake to underestimate the intelligence of anyone at NASA as an explanation for motivation.

  4. To be fair the Constellation Program didn’t have a plan for actual missions either. All it had was a plan to get Ares I and CEV flying with later plans to get Ares V flying. Actual money for actual missions wouldn’t have materialized until after the ISS program had ended. So, SLS/Orion isn’t so different in that respect.

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